Meeting Again
by MewLover54
Summary: Ash and Delia decide to go home to Pallet Town for the former's birthday and his friends are already gathered to celebrate his big day. Which means that Pikachu get's to see his old pokepals again...including one, bunny inparticular who still has feelings for the guy and hopes to tell him before he leaves again. Rated T for one or two jokes in the story. UNIVERSE ONE: Story 2.


**ML54: Hey guys! I finally have this f"£$ing thing done!**

 **Piplup: Whoa! Man, language over there!**

 **ML54: Oh, sorry man, it's just that this fic took so long to do, not for the usual reason that I kept adding stuff and procrastinating (though that did happen) but my computer blew up and I lost the original version, which was 4,000 words in, so I had to rewrite the whole thing because I was stupid and forgot to back it up. And now this one ended up so long as well and-**

 **Pachirisu: No, not that! You just mis-spelt the word fu-**

 **ML54: I didn't mis-spell it! I'm just trying not to swear in my fics anymore! It makes 'em feel...I don't know, I just don't want to do it!**

 **Pikachu: *Raises eyebrow* What about Equestrian-**

 **ML54: That's different! Disclaimer!**

 **Buneary: *Shrugs* Okay, ML54 doesn't own Pokemon!**

 **ML54: Also, this story is in universe to Nerves so, if you're wondering why Snivy and Oshawott are dating, that's explained in Nerves! But you shouldn't need to read that to understand this story since this is Lagomorph focused! Please enjoy! :D**

* * *

 **Meeting Again**

It was an early afternoon as a ferry sounded its horn, it's captain having spotted the port to Vermillion City in the distance, signalling to all on board that they would be docking soon.

One of those passengers was Delia Ketchum, who was seen walking down the halls of the ship.

"Ash, dear, we're going to be in Vermillion City soon," Delia Ketchum said, opening the door on one of the ferry's passenger rooms to find her son, Ash, talking to three of his newest Pokémon: Rowlet, Rockruff and Litten.

"So, make sure to stand clear, just in case my Tauros come charging at me, they get a little excited sometimes, then there's Charizard who likes to flamethrower me in the face. It's sort of a little tradition we have. Then Bayleef likes to hug me, which I know looks like a body slam, but it's just-" Ash cut himself off when he realised that Rowlet had fallen asleep, Litten was looking over his own paw, disinterestedly, and Rockruff was nosing around in his bag, trying to find something to play with.

He sighed as Delia put a hand on his shoulder, sympathetically. "You know, mom, I don't know why I bother sometimes..."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine dear," Delia said, causing Pikachu, who had been napping on the window sill, to stand to attention. "Anyway, we'll be at the port soon, so I just came to make sure you were all packed."

Ash blinked, before he jumped up, grabbed his bag, and started to rapidly shove stuff in, causing Rowlet to let out a startled squawk and Rockruff to jump up and down around the trainer, hoping to play.

"Aw man, I almost forgot! Where did I put my-" His words were cut off when Litten, to try and calm his trainer down, shot an ember into his face.

This caused Ash to twitch a couple of times before falling onto his back. Rockruff, being the ever-faithful companion, started to rub the side of his neck against his face to make him feel better, not noticing that it was actually making it far worse.

Delia sighed at the commotion and turned to Pikachu, who tilted his head to the side. "Do you mind helping Ash while I gather his things please, Pikachu?"

Pikachu blinked, then turned and gave a fond smile to his Alola team and Ash. "[Yeah sure, I got this.]"

* * *

At the port of Vermillion, a couple of Ash's travelling companions were seen standing on the end of the pier, ready to greet him while the others stayed behind to get together a few things to prepare for Ash's birthday, the reason he and his mother were visiting home to begin with.

The ones that decided to come were: Misty, May, Dawn, Brock and Serena. With them, they brought a couple of their Pokémon as well to greet Pikachu, as they seemed to miss the rodent.

One of these Pokémon was seen standing at Dawn's feet, alternating between: fiddling with the fluff on her waist, tugging on her orange vest and pulling on her ears to check the fluff on top of them.

Another one was in Dawn's arms, who was getting tired of his team-mate's antics. "[Buneary, could you please stop fussing, you look fine.]"

"[I'm sorry, Piplup, I'm just so nervous!]" The brown rabbit, Buneary said, looking up at the blue penguin, Piplup. "[I haven't seen Pikachu in, like, forever! Do you think he'll be happy to see me?]"

Piplup rolled his eyes at her. "[Of course, he'll be happy to see you! He let you nuzzle with him the last time we saw him, didn't he?]"

"[Yeah...]" Buneary mumbled, grinning happily with a red hue painting her cheeks.

"[Exactly, so you'll be fine,]" Piplup said, turning back to the ferry that was getting closer to the dock.

"[But what if he met another girl while I was gone?!]" Buneary questioned, despair already showing on her face.

"[Then he'd probably act oblivious around her too,]" He replied, scanning the ship a little more. "[Besides, no one else has your endless patience, so this hypothetical rival would probably give up after about a month.]"

"[Yeah...I guess,]" Buneary answered, smiling slightly at his words.

Piplup grinned back, happy to know that he put his friend's mind at ease, before looking back to the ship, hoping to find Pikachu.

Buneary did the same, but caught sight of the mouse almost instantly, having trained her eyes to spot the yellow Pokémon a mile away.

He was perched on Ash's shoulder, looking out towards the horizon, the afternoon sun reflecting off his fur and eyes, causing them to shine and for his handsome features to stand out. Standing ever vigilant, like Ash's little bodyguard.

And that was enough to cause Buneary's heart to soar and her face to heat up, causing her to pull her waist fur up to cover her face and hide it from the object of her affections.

Piplup noticed this and slapped a paw on his forehead in exasperation. _Jeez, Buneary needs to get laid..._

* * *

As soon as Ash stepped off the ship, he was drawn into a group hug by the girls, Brock standing off to the side, not wanting to be part of the sandwich that was created.

Luckily for him, Pikachu decided to jump off his trainer's shoulder, not wanting to ruin the moment by thunderbolt-ing the group and wanting to see if the group brought any of his Poké-pals with them.

"[Hi Pikachu,]" He heard and turned, smiling at the yellow, duck like Pokémon in front of him.

"[Hey Psyduck!]" Pikachu replied, moving to the small gathering of Pokémon.

The group of Pokémon he could see consisted of: Psyduck, Piplup, Croagunk, Glaceon and Sylveon...

...and he couldn't figure out why he felt so disappointed.

It was weird since these guys were as much his friends as any of the others and he couldn't expect everyone to be here. That would've been madness!

As soon as he got within arm's reach of the group, Piplup drew the mouse into a big hug, much to the group's surprise.

Pikachu grinned, weakly, hugging the penguin back. "[Aw, I missed you too buddy.]"

"[Of course, you did! Why wouldn't you miss me?]" Piplup replied, quickly pulling away and rubbing his eyes a little when he felt some 'male pride' build in them.

Before Pikachu could question him, Psyduck, Glaceon and Sylveon quickly hugged him as well, having been given an impromptu go-ahead by the penguin. So instead, he let out an exasperated sigh and tried to hug them back to the best of his ability.

Piplup nodded and looked at Croagunk, tilting his head.

Answering his silent question, Croagunk pointed towards a bollard not too far away from the group. Piplup smiled in appreciation and went over to it.

Behind the bollard, he found Buneary shivering with her eyes clenched shut and her waist fur pulled up to her chin.

Piplup put one of his flippers on the rabbit's shoulder. "[Hey c'mon, there's nothi-]"

"[AIIEEEEE!]" Buneary cried, quickly extending one of her rolled up ears into Piplup's face, sending him flying into the bollard opposite them painfully.

Once she opened her eyes and realised that it was just Piplup, she let go of the fur and used her, now free, paws to cover her mouth instead. "[Oh Mew, I'm so-]"

"[Go greet Pikachu! Now!]" Piplup demanded, rubbing the back of his head to ease the throbbing pain, one of his eyes clenched shut after being hit by the bunny's very strong ear-punch.

Buneary cringed and mouthed a silent apology before bouncing around to find the mouse being released from the group hug.

Pikachu, himself, glanced over and noticed the rabbit, causing her to immediately respond by looking down at her feet and kicking a little dust around, fiddling with her waist fur.

He sighed quietly in exasperation, already knowing what Buneary wanted and motioned her over with a tilt of his head when she looked up at him.

Buneary immediately brightened up and bounced up to him, rubbing her cheek up against his, giving him an affectionate nuzzle.

Pikachu blushed a bit when he heard some of the others share some hushed giggles, but mostly just ignored them. He knows how affectionate his long-eared friend was and didn't want to upset her, so just let her go about her nuzzling.

Though, strangely enough, he wasn't disappointed with the turnout anymore.

* * *

Once the group got reacquainted a bit, they decided to have a quick lunch at a local café to catch up a little more and ask Ash and Delia how Alola was treating them.

The Pokémon were all by their feet, but some didn't feel too hungry, so only Pikachu, Buneary, Piplup and Glaceon stay outside of their Pokéballs.

"[So yeah, if you guys ever go to Alola, make sure to drink a lot of water, it gets really hot and you dry out pretty quick,]" Pikachu said, taking a small bite out of one of Brock's Poke-pellets. Sure, the café had them too, but nothing beats Brock's cooking.

"[Urg, it sounds so bad!]" Glaceon complained, putting one of her paws on top of her head. "[I'd need a heck of a sun hat, or I'd have to consider living with Beautifly and Skitty back in Hoenn!]"

Piplup tilted his head in her direction, swallowing the mouthful of pellets he had. "[I thought you said they lived in May's dad's greenhouse?]"

Glaceon sighed. "[Yeah, but the kitchen tiles are really cool and they have this really great fan that'd blow the heat right off you.]"

Pikachu grinned as the two talked to each other, before turning to the surprisingly quiet bunny next to him, who was nibbling on one of her pellets, sort of shuffling on the spot.

He blinked and tilted his head at her. "[Are you okay?]"

Buneary jumped a little, before turning and smiling brightly at him. "[Yup! Never better!]"

Pikachu noticed that there was a little more distance between them than usual and gave a little sigh, knowing what the problem was.

So, he shuffled closer to her and gave her a little smile. "[You know I stopped caring about this a while ago, right?]"

She flinched a little at how he worded the statement, but decided to move up enough so that she could feel his body heat and blushed red. "[Thanks...]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes, playfully, at her and proved his point by giving her a little one-armed hug when Piplup and Glaceon turned to see them.

"[See?]" Pikachu smiled, before letting go to see what the two were going to ask, not noticing how much that little action had affected the rabbit. Which was for her heart to start pounding against her rib cage and for her face to flush hotter than the Alola region itself.

But Buneary wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. She loved how close she and Pikachu had become, even after all this time apart, so had one of the biggest smiles she'd ever had on her face.

Glaceon, noticing this, gave a little grin of her own. _So, Buneary still has a crush on Pikachu, huh?_ She thought to herself, noting how close the rodent Pokémon were while Pikachu was listening to Piplup brag about the battle he won against Dawn's quilava the other day.

She scanned the infatuated expression on the rabbit's face and looked at the oblivious yellow mouse and took another mouthful of food from her bowl. _Welp, Pikachu's as blind to it as ever. I think it's meddling time!_

* * *

After finishing their lunch, the group decided to take the magnet train from Vermillion City to Pallet Town.

In recent years, the magnet train had expanded from connecting just Goldenrod City to Saffron City, to interconnecting most of the highlight towns and cities from both Johto and Kanto.

However, that meant that the trains tend to be quite packed, not by trainers since they'd want to be on the road to try and catch Pokémon, but by commuters going to work in other towns and cities.

And since the train had an open policy about having Pokémon on board outside of their Pokéballs, the average chance of having any arm space is pretty low.

Thus, is the reason that Pikachu found himself pressed up against Buneary by their trainer's feet. Piplup decided to stay in his Pokéball, but Glaceon decided to stay outside of hers, sitting on the opposite side of the yellow mouse.

Pikachu flinched a little at Glaceon's cold skin and, being used to the Alolan heat, decided to try and find as much of that heat as possible in Buneary's fur.

Buneary had noticed this and blushed, sending a couple of dirty looks at Glaceon, who was pretending not to notice.

"[Are you sure you don't want to trade places, Pikachu?]" Buneary asked, motioning towards the eeveelution beside him.

Pikachu shook his head, causing it rub slightly against one of her rolled up ears. "[No, I don't want to be rude or anything. She can't help it if she's an ice-type.]"

"[I know, but that doesn't mean she can just not consider your feelings about her frost shedding,]" Buneary whispered, noticing a few snowflakes fall off Glaceon's side and drift towards Pikachu, who flinched and shuffled closer to the rabbit, so that his side was completely pressed against hers.

"[Seriously, it's fine Buneary, I really don't want to embarrass anyone,]" He said, moving his arm behind Buneary to give it a little breathing room.

Said bunny was about to reply before the train rustled a little, causing the mouse to fall into her more so that his cheek landed in the fluff on top of Buneary's head and his arm had, instinctively, wrapped around her to remain balanced.

Buneary was plenty stable enough, having practised a few dancing steps with Dawn when preparing for a charity Pokémon contest that happened in Solaceon Town a few months ago, but her face flushed red again and she started fiddling with her waist fur, not sure if she should hide her embarrassment behind it.

Pikachu noticed and panicked, hoping to avoid her hiding in her fur again. He always hated how uncomfortable she felt around him sometimes and wanted to keep her calm.

In the end, he decided on small talk.

"[So, what have you been up to recently?]" He asked, loosening his grip on her slightly to allow her some breathing room.

"[Oh! Well, I've been practising some of my battling recently,]" She replied, letting go of her waist fur, instead letting her paws lay down on her lap neatly.

Pikachu was a little surprised since, in Pokémon contests, pizazz is more important than the actual fighting. "[Really now. Any reason?]"

 _To impress you,_ Buneary thought to herself, blushing a little bit before replying to him properly. "[Just wanted to be ready in case something bad happens and I need to beat some people up.]"

Pikachu blinked, before the image of the bunny next to him defeating that phione, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, came to mind and felt a little shiver going down his spine at the thought of her getting stronger than that. _Next thing you know, she'll be punching Arceus in the face!_

"[You know you were already plenty strong, right?]" He asked, noticing Glaceon's tail getting a little close for comfort. Thus, was the reason he shifted further aware from the ice-type.

Buneary blinked and looked up at him, her red face getting even redder, especially after noticing how close he had gotten to her. "[R-really…]"

"[You kidding? I'm kind of nervous having my head this close to your ears right now,]" He replied, jokingly, using his arm that wasn't wrapped around her to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "[In all honesty, I dread the day I'll have to battle you since, well, I know you have the Limber ability and I'm pretty sure you'll kick my ass.]"

Buneary shook her head, her mouth open in shock. "[What, no way! You said you took down a regice before! Heck, you took out a dragonite and a latios!]"

Pikachu shrugged his shoulders. "[I don't know, sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. I mean, I got taken out by a starter snivy and I lost to Paul's electivire when he was an elekid.]"

"[Oh, come on, something must have been off those times! You're the strongest Pokémon I know! Maybe you were sick or hungry or something,]" She argued, glaring at nothing in particular.

Pikachu shrugged again. "[I don't know. Elekid used my electricity against me and, well, I was distracted by something against that snivy.]"

"[Really, what?]" Buneary asked, turning to look up at him a little.

"[Um…uh…]" Pikachu replied, blushing a little since he knew exactly what distracted him.

It was one of his first battles since Ash and Dawn separated. Which meant that he didn't have his fluffy, little cheerleader watching him.

He didn't realise it at the time, but when he landed a hit on the snake, he noticed that there wasn't a feminine cheer of excitement in the crowd. So, he had glanced around and noticed that Buneary wasn't there. Thus, distracting him long enough to allow Trip to get the advantage.

"[Pikachu?]" He blinked and looked down at the rabbit, whose eyes were filled with worry. "[What's wrong?]"

He smiled and nuzzled her cheek in a friendly manner, causing her to blush, but let out a happy little giggle as he did so.

"[Nothing, nothing at all,]" He smiled, pulling back to lay his head back on top of his friend's fluffy ear, unaware how red Buneary's face had gotten and how content she looked sitting where she was.

Glaceon noticed, however, and smiled in satisfaction. _Looks like I might have gotten Pikachu a little curious. Just have to keep pushing, little by little, and we'll have ourselves a very happy bunny._

* * *

"It's great to see you too, Bayleef…" Ash said, grinning weakly from underneath the yellow, dinosaur who was nuzzling into the side of his face happily.

Once everyone had gotten off the train, they made a beeline for Professor Oak's place so Ash could see all his Pokémon.

And, of course, they were just as excited to see him as he was to see them, as proved by the Body Slam by Bayleef, the scorch marks on his shirt from Charizard's Flamethrower, the faint aroma of Muk's lingering hug or the bruises he got from some of his more boisterous Pokémon.

Pikachu grinned, weakly, as he stood away from the commotion, hoping to avoid a few broken ribs and opted to keep Buneary and Glaceon company.

Glaceon noticed this and grinned, teasingly. "[What's up, scared of your own team-mates?]"

Pikachu jumped and turned to her, shaking his head. "[Pfft, what? No way!]" He said, rubbing one of his arms with the other. "[Just don't want to…interrupt their time with Ash.]"

"[Aw, but I bet they missed you just as much as they missed Ash,]" Buneary added, innocently.

"[W-well yeah, sure…B-but you know, I'll probably camp out with them tonight so…they'll have me all to themselves then and-]" He was cut off, suddenly, by an elephant like Pokémon who glomped him from behind, causing the mouse to faceplant into the ground.

"[Pikachu!]" Cried Donphan, happily, as got up and wrapped his trunk around Pikachu's arm and started to drag him towards the group, not noticing Buneary and Glaceon both trying to hide their giggles. "[C'mon! Everybody wants to see you too!]"

"[Have fun!]" Glaceon waved, completely ignoring Pikachu's glare as he was pulled away.

"[See you later, Pikachu!]" Buneary said, waving happily as she noticed the cheers of the group of Pokémon in front of her.

After he was safely out of ear shot, Buneary's face suddenly turned serious as she faced the eeveelution before her. "[Ok, I'm not saying this to be rude, but could you try being careful with your frost shedding, you were making Pikachu really uncomfortable earlier.]"

Glaceon blinked, before she shrugged and shot her a friendly smile. "[Oh c'mon, Buneary, I was only trying to be your wing-girl.]"

"[M-my what?]" Buneary replied, her face starting to stain red a little.

"[Your wing-girl!]" A sudden voice said from behind her, causing her to shriek and bounce back in front of Glaceon, only to find that it was a familiar white and blue squirrel.

"[Pachirisu, could you stop sneaking up on me like that?!] The rabbit scolded, getting to her feet and brushing down her fluff, it having poofed out more than usual after her little scare.

"[Sorry, you asked,]" The squirrel replied, dejectedly, her head drooping to show her sadness.

"[Yeah, I heard her, I wanted her to tell me what she meant,]" Buneary clarified, turning back to Glaceon with an eyebrow raised.

"[Well, it's a Pokémon who helps a friend to find a boyfriend,]" She said to the ever-reddening bunny in front of her.

"[Oh, that's what that meant!]" Pachirisu exclaimed, clapping her front paws together. "[I thought you two were gonna start trying to fly or something!]"

Glaceon grinned at the squirrel and gave her a nudge. "[You want to help too?]"

"[Well sure, but only if you're trying to ship her with Pikachu. Lagomorph for life, baby!]" She answered, jumping up and down excitedly.

"[No, you won't be helping because I don't need a wing-girl!]" Buneary interrupted, crossing her arms in a cross manner.

The two blinked at her, before Pachirisu whined. "[Aw, but I thought this was going to be fun!]"

"[Oh, it will be,]" Glaceon answered before Buneary could reply herself and knocked said rabbit on the shoulder. "[C'mon Buneary, it can't hurt, can it?]"

"[…I'm sorry, but I really don't know you that well,]" She answered, her arms still crossed, but her facial expression faltering slightly.

"[C'mon fluffy! You don't want to die alone, do you?]" Buneary flinched at the way Pachirisu worded it, but the words had the desired effect and the image of an old Buneary sat alone inside her Pokéball shot to the front of her mind.

The imaginary Buneary looked very miserable, her waist fur having drooped and become lack-lustre with streaks of grey being found in it. Her ears flopped down, her eyes tired and bagged, her lips pulled down into a perpetual frown and her body slouched and frail.

After a little bit of hesitation, both Glaceon and Pachirisu giving her pleading looks, Buneary sighed and flopped onto her backside distraughtly. "[Fine…]"

Pachirisu cheered, happily, and rushed down to Ash's Pokémon crowd. "[Great! I'm going to go tell Buizel!]"

"[No! Don't do th-And she's gone…]" Glaceon sighed, looking down at the sad little rabbit and patted her shoulder, gently. "[Hey c'mon, it'll all be okay. By the end of the day, you'll have a little yellow boyfriend, no doubt about it!]"

"[Sure…]" Buneary mumbled, the image of the elderly bunny still plastered in her mind.

 _I'm…I'm not going to end up like that…right?_ She thought to herself as Glaceon started to chase Pachirisu to try and stop her from spreading the word.

* * *

"[…And then I dodged the attack and threw my pincer back into Scyther's face! Then he tries to get me with a Slash, but then I counter with my Crabhammer! Which is when…]" Corphish explained to Pikachu, not noticing his apathy, or the fact that this was the third time that the lobster had told him this story.

"[Hey Corphish, stop hogging the mouse, would ya?]" Came a voice to the side and Pikachu thanked Arceus for who-ever his saviour was. Sure, the first time Corphish had told this story it had been interesting, but it got old a while ago.

"[Huh? Oh, sure Snivy!]" Corphish replied to the snake, before she wrapped a vine around Pikachu's waist and lifted him away from the lobster. "[I'll tell you the rest of the story later, buddy!]"

"[Sure…]" Pikachu replied, awkwardly, as the snake walked him over to the edge of the nearby lake where an otter and a caped squirrel seemed to be having a conversation. "[Thanks for the save, Snivy.]" He said to the grass-type once they were out of ear-shot.

"[No problem,]" Snivy shrugged, placing him next to the squirrel, Emolga, before she took her seat next to the otter, Oshawott. "[I know Corphish's stories can get kind of tedious after the second, third or fourth time.]"

"[No way could you eat five apples in a minute!]" Oshawott exclaimed at Emolga, who grinned and examined her paw, aloofly.

"[Yeah way, and I'm not talking about leaving hourglass cores either. I'm talking the whole thing!]" She boasted.

"[Guys, as riveting as Emolga's over-eating is, I managed to get Pikachu,]" Snivy interrupted, rolling her eyes at the two of them.

"[Oh, hey Pikachu!]" Oshawott said, smiling in the mouse's direction. "[Good to see you!]"

"[Yeah, it's been so- _Hey, what do you mean by that?!_ ]" Emolga interrupted herself, glaring at the snake opposite her, who smirked back.

"[Nothing at all, fatty, nothing at all,]" The snake said back, not noticing Emolga grit her teeth. Oshawott and Pikachu both backed away from the girls, not wanting to get involved in the fight themselves.

"[I'm not fat! I have a fast metabolism!]"

"[And yet, you still managed to get so plump, impressive,]" Snivy teased, using a vine to prod at the squirrel's stomach, causing her to smack it away.

"[Well excuse me, some Pokémon don't enjoy looking like twigs,]" Emolga shot back poking Snivy's ribcage, feeling the bones beneath the skin. "[Seriously, you'd probably snap if I threw a twig _at_ you!]"

"[…Um, want to leave them to it and get something to eat?]" Oshawott asked, quietly, getting a quick nod from Pikachu.

"[More than you could possibly know,]" He replied, getting up and following the otter towards the berry orchard, the girls not even noticing their departure.

* * *

"[So how long has Emolga been here and how often has she been fighting with Snivy?]" Pikachu asked when they were clear of the others.

"[To be fair, they get along really well most of the time,]" Oshawott replied, detaching his scalchop to try and get a low hanging pecha berry. "[I think this is the first proper argument they've been in all week.]"

"[Oh okay, cool,]" Pikachu replied, watching as Oshawott threw his weapon and missed the berry. "[Um…I think you undershot it a little.]"

"[Yeah, I know, don't worry!]" He replied, running over to get his shell to try again.

"[So, anything new happen around here?]" Pikachu asked, watching Oshawott, once again, miss the berry.

"[Corphish won a battle against Scyther the other day!]" The otter answered, grabbing his weapon again. "[Want to hear about that?]"

"[Already did…three times,]" Pikachu answered, sweat dropping as Oshawott, once again, missed the berry. "[Um…do you want some help?]"

"[Nah, I got it,]" Oshawott answered, a slightly strained smile on his face as he grabbed the scalchop again. "[Um…Charizard battled Sceptile the other day, I think Charizard won? I'm not sure, I wasn't there for that fight.]"

"[Oh cool,]" Pikachu answered, making a mental note to ask Charizard about it later. "[But how about you, anything new happen with you while I was gone?]" He said, getting tired of seeing Oshawott floundering around and jumped up to use a quick Iron Tail to get the berry.

Oshawott folded his arms, grumpily, as Pikachu held out said berry to him. "[Show off.]"

"[Pot kettle,]" The electric-type shot back, putting the berry down at the otter's feet, to jump into the tree again and grab a couple more.

Once he came down, after finding about four ripe ones, he found Oshawott munching on the berry he got down originally and he grinned. _Ah, don't ever change, Oshawott._

"[Thanks…]" The otter said once he noticed Pikachu had come back down with a few more pecha berries.

Once Pikachu had sat down again, he repeated his earlier question. "[So, anything interesting happen to you while I was gone?]"

Oshawott gulped down his mouthful and put a paw to his chin in thought. "[Hm…Well, Pignite and I got the Berry Pickers of the Month award. Tracy did a sketch of me while I was sleeping against that chesto berry tree over there. Snivy and I started dating and I found a shiny thing yesterday!]"

Pikachu bolted upright in surprise. "[Really! How'd that happen?!]"

Oshawott blinked, before smiling and clasping his paws together. "[Well, I was walking around when I saw something sparkling in the distance, so I-]"

"[Not the shiny thing!]" Pikachu clarified, exasperatedly. "[I meant you dating Snivy! I didn't think she'd be into you flirting with her.]"

"[Nah, she flirted with me,]" Oshaowtt grinned, before he pondered the statement a little. "[Well…maybe flirted is the wrong word…terrified might fit better.]"

"[Yeah, you see, _that_ sounds more like Snivy,]" Pikachu replied, before tilting his head. "[But really, she flirted with you?]"

"[I'll be honest, I'm just as surprised as you are, but I don't want to question a good thing,]" Oshawott replied, happily.

"[I guess…]" Pikachu said, scratching his ear. "[So, how's dating her been treating you?]"

Oshawott blushed, but smiled fondly. "[Really well. We just seem to click, you know?]"

"[Really?]"

"[Yup, the whole 'opposites attract' thing might actually have some merit to it,]" He replied, still holding that silly little smile. "[She's been helping me train and get a little stronger, and she started playing tag and hide & seek with the rest of us and loosening up a little. She's the seriousness I lack and I'm the playfulness that she lacks and it just sort of…works.]"

"[Wow…wish I could have something like that,]" Pikachu mentioned, finally deciding to take a bite out of one of the berries.

"[…Don't you?]" Oshawott asked, confused.

"[Um…no, I don't have a girlfriend,]" Pikachu replied, causing Oshawott to tilt his head, even more confused.

"[What about that bunny girl that the blue-haired trainer had? The one that nuzzled you at Cynthia's place?]" The otter asked, causing Pikachu to spit out the second bite of berry that he took.

"[What?! Not you too!]" Pikachu exclaimed, dramatically. "[Why does everyone think that there's something between me and her?]"

"[…Probably because it's obviously there,]" Oshawott said, a deadpan expression on his face. "[Pokémon, especially rodent Pokémon, don't just nuzzle anyone you know?]"

"[But…Buneary's always been like that!]"

"[So, she nuzzles everyone, does she?]" The otter asked, to which the yellow mouse stumbled and blushed.

"[W-well…no, I guess I haven't _seen_ her nuzzle anyone else, but that doesn't mean she hasn't!]"

Oshawott blinked at the mouse, before he sighed and slapped a paw over his face. "[And they call me the stupid one.]"

"[H-hey, c'mon! Just because she nuzzles me…and hugs me…and compliments me…and cheers me on in all my battles…and cheers me up when I'm down…and hangs out with me when everyone else is busy…and trained with me sometimes even though she doesn't battle much…and warmed me up that one time we were travelling on Mount Coronet…and holds my paw…and blushes when I'm around her…and winks at me…and…and…]"

Oshawott continued to give Pikachu that deadpan expression as he listed off all those things that Buneary does with him before the penny dropped. "[…Buneary has a crush on me.]"

"[Well, duh,]" Oshawott responded, rolling his eyes at him. "[That much is obvious, and I only saw her nuzzle you!]"

"[I think Snivy's snark is rubbing off on you,]" Pikachu lamented, his face heating up immensely.

"[It still needs a little work, I feel,]" Came a voice from beside them and they turned to find Snivy, who looked to have a few scuff marks and a little static electricity dancing around her body, standing there looking oddly proud.

"[Hey Sni, you and Emolga get into a battle?]" Oshawott asked as she sat next to him and grabbed his paw.

"[Yeah, she's gotten a lot stronger than before, that's for sure,]" She grinned, before turning to the embarrassed looking mouse. "[So, why're you snarking at the mouse?]"

"[He only just realised that that bunny girl has a crush on him,]" He answered, waving a paw at the other male, who groaned even more, trying to get the red off his face.

There was a pause for a few seconds, before Snivy rolled her eyes. "[Yeah, I'd probably snark at you too, dude.]"

"[Thanks…]" Pikachu sighed, putting his head into his paws. "[So, what do I do about this?]"

"[…Well that all depends on how you feel about her,]" The otter answered, noting the snake's apathy to the situation.

"[But I don't know how I feel!]"

"[Well, sorry, but we can't help you there then,]" Snivy decided to say, before something popped into her head. "[But I can try something.]"

The two males blinked at her, before Pikachu sighed and shrugged. "[Sure, shoot.]"

"[Okay, imagine that she decided, for whatever reason, to try and date Oshawott over here instead, how would you feel?]" The snake asked.

"[Mostly confused…]"

"[Not you, Oshawott,]" Snivy said, giving the otter a light shove, causing him to laugh. "[I swear, you do it on purpose.]"

"[Um…]" Pikachu let out, looking at said otter and imagined that, instead of Snivy, it was Buneary that was holding his paw. The two of them teasing and smiling at each other…

…and he felt his heart start to ache a little.

"[Ow…]" The mouse mumbled, quickly shaking the image out of his mind. "[Hurt…I guess.]"

"[Why would you be hurt? She's not your girlfriend, is she?]" Snivy grinned, silently thanking Emolga for all those talks about how emotions work during the week.

"[I…don't know…I guess because she usually hugs me and it makes me feel like…I'm special to her and…if she just went and started hugging other guys I'd feel…like I wasn't…Is that weird?]"

"[It's jealousy, is what it is!]" Oshawott explained, knocking Pikachu on the shoulder. "[You don't want Buneary to hug anyone else the way she hugs you. The same way I wouldn't want Snivy to hug anyone else the way she hugs me!]"

"[Really, how does she hug you?]"

"[Well, I only hug _him_ ,]" Snivy explained, before shoving the mouse. "[Now stop trying to change the subject. If you're getting jealous about hypothetical rivals for Buneary's affections than there must be something there, otherwise you wouldn't care!]"

"[Wait! Does that mean-]"

"[Yup! You got a crush!]" The two Unova starters said at once, causing Pikachu to flush even more red than before and start to twiddle his paws together.

"[I-I…uh…well…]" Pikachu stammered, grabbing a berry from the, ever shrinking, pile to fiddle around with.

"[There's no shame in admitting it, bud,]" Oshawott reassured him, lifting his paw, which was being held by Snivy, to show him. "[Snivy and I have had some teasing thrown at us too, but it's really not that bad.]"

"[It…it's not that. It's just that I know it won't work out!]" The two blinked as the mouse exploded like that.

Pikachu ignored their looks and got up, throwing the berry at the ground in frustration. "[I can't be a good boyfriend if I'm travelling all the time! I mean, I haven't seen Buneary since we were at Cynthia's place four months ago!]"

"[So, it'll be a bit of a…long distance relationship. That can still work,]" Snivy said, extending a vine to rub his shoulder to help calm him down.

"[You have seen how touchy she is, right?]" He said to them in a deadpan expression, shaking her vine off. "[I just…can't give her what she wants!]"

"[She _wants_ to be with you!]" Oshawott exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulders to try and shake some sense into him. "[So-what, if you can't see her _all_ of the time?!]"

"[Besides, I'm sure that blue haired girl wouldn't mind letting Ash borrow Buneary, every now and then, to let you guys spend some time together,]" Snivy said, rolling her eyes. "[It's not as tricky as you seem to think it is.]"

"[Um…uh…]"

"[Look, in the end, it's your call,]" Snivy said, separating him and Oshawott, once again grabbing the otter's paw. "[Now the battle ring's opening soon for double battles and you promised we'd take part,]" She continued, this time facing Oshawott, who sighed and smiled at her.

"[Of course, can't wait,]" Oshawott said, before turning to answer the question, he was sure, Pikachu was going to ask. "[Oh, the Pokémon here in the lab decided to make a few battle areas in one of the larger fields and we use them to set up little competitions, or even just to have friendly battles.]"

"[Oh…That sounds like fun actually,]" Pikachu said, rubbing one of his arms with the other.

"[Well if we're fast enough, you might be able to get in a friendly match before the doubles tournament,]" Snivy encouraged, turning to lead him to the battle ring. "[C'mon!]"

"[Coming!]" Pikachu called out as Snivy, to save time, picked Oshawott up to run on her own, ignoring his mild protests.

The mouse got down on all fours to chase after them, hoping that he can take his mind off the adorable little crush of his…or at least clear his mind a little to know what to do about it.

* * *

"[I don't know, you guys,]" Buneary said, kicking up some dust on the edge of a ring was made in the dirt, a rhydon clashing with Charizard in the middle, it's Horn Drill slamming into the dragon-like Pokémon's Steel Wing.

"[What's wrong?]" An orange, weasel like Pokémon said from beside her, folding his arms with a smirk. "[If there's one thing Pikachu likes, it's a strong fighter. So, you prove that you can go toe-to-toe with some of the best battlers here, then that should definitely get his attention.]"

"[I like his plan,]" Glaceon agreed, several scuff marks and a few splotches of dirt covering her fur. "[Simple but effective, doesn't involve anything questionable and will probably, actually work.]"

"[Of course, it will!]" Pachirisu cheered from on top of the weasel, Buizel's, head. "[Next to Piplup, you're the strongest member on our team! You'll wipe the floor with anyone you get into the ring with!]"

"[I'm a contest Pokémon, not a battler!]" Buneary argued, rubbing one of her arms, nervously. "[And if I lose, won't Pikachu lose interest?]"

The three blinked, almost as if the thought never even occurred to them. "[Oh drat, didn't think of that…]" Buizel mumbled, looking over and watching Charizard bathe the rhydon in a Dragonbreath.

"[Yeah…Now I feel bad about signing you up to fight Infernape,]" Pachirisu added, causing Buneary's eyes to fly open in shock.

"[You what?!]"

"[I signed you up to fight Infernape, man fluffy, you really don't listen, do you?]" Pachirisu said, rolling her eyes at the bunny, not noticing Buneary clenching her fists, almost as if preparing to kill the squirrel.

"[…Pachi…maybe you should have picked a more…suitable opponent,]" Buizel commented, looking up at the girl. "[Maybe Gible or Bayleef, why one of Ash's strongest Pokémon?]"

"[To impress Pikachu, duh,]" She said, looking over the group. "[I thought that's what we were doing?]"

"[Well…yeah, of course we are!]" Glaceon clarified, before motioning towards the bunny. "[But we're not trying to put her in the Pokémon Centre. Not only is Infernape fully evolved, but he has type advantage too!]"

"[Type advantage, shmype advantage! Fluffy's got it in the bag!]" The electric-type said, smiling at the bunny, who looked a little more appreciative. "[Now we best hurry, your battle starts in a couple of minutes…]"

* * *

"[Hey look, Pikachu, ain't that your girlfriend over there!]" Oshawott said, not focusing on the training that he and Snivy were doing, thus she used her Leaf Blade to smack his scalchop out of his paw and held the green energy blade up to his neck.

"[Focus Oshawott,]" Snivy grinned at him, using a vine to fetch his shell.

Pikachu ignored them and noted that the rabbit was heading towards one of the rings. "[Um, I'm going to go check what she's up to. Later guys!]"

"[Later lover boy!]" Snivy said, before a highly pressurized, water cannon hit her in the back of the head, causing her to fall onto the ground.

"[Focus Sni,]" Oshawott grinned, cutting off his Hydro Pump.

* * *

When Pikachu made it to the ring, he noticed Buneary standing on the battlefield, Infernape standing opposite her with a young, inexperienced looking squirtle standing in between them.

"[This is a one-on-one, friendly battle between Buneary and Infernape, the battle ends when one of the combatants is unable to battle or one decides to throw in the towel. There are to be no items, like oran berries and choice scarves, to be used in this battle,]" The squirtle announced in as serious a tone as he could muster in that slightly squeaky voice of his.

"[What's going on?]" Pikachu asked Piplup, when he noticed the penguin next to him.

Said penguin looked to be extremely worried for his team-mate. "[Buneary's gone insane, is what's going on!]" He said, dramatically, motioning to Infernape igniting his fists in anticipation. "[She doesn't stand a chance against Infernape!]"

"[Hey now, I don't think that's fair,]" Pikachu said, feeling the need to defend Buneary. "[I'm sure she wouldn't choose to battle a fighting-type unless she could handle it!]"

Buneary, who was shivering slightly, noticed his voice and turned to see Pikachu standing there next to Piplup…

…and her nervousness had increased, ten-fold. _Oh no, he's watching!_

"[…Let the battle begin!]" Squirtle announced, quickly moving off the field as Infernape charged forward.

"[Mach Punch!]" The monkey cried, his fist glowing with power as he thrust it forward.

Buneary, only now just noticing the battle had started, shrieked and used Bounce to avoid the attack, causing his fist to slam into the ground. _Ok! Focus on this and forget about him for now!_

"[Ice Beam!]" Buneary cried out as she fired the ice-cold laser out of her mouth, to which Infernape turned towards and opened his own mouth.

"[Flamethrower!]" He called, both attacks colliding in between the pair, causing a massive steam cloud to be formed between the two…

…thus, Infernape didn't see the fluffy brown missile coming towards him, before its foot slammed right into his back.

The crowd cringed as he slammed into the ground with a thud, though Pikachu did give Piplup a smug grin. "[See, her Bounce is a flying-type move, so does massive damage to a fighting-type like Infernape.]"

"[I guess,]" Piplup said, noticing Buneary land on the ground and turn towards her opponent, looking apprehensive. "[But she's not a battler, she's made for timed, contest battles, not for outlasting or beating up her opponents. She's out of her element here.]"

As much as Pikachu loathed to admit it, the penguin was right. Buneary kept bouncing from one leg to the other, waiting for Infernape to get back up, whereas any battler knew that this was the opportunity to get some free hits in. However, in contests, that was considered unsporting and unappealing, thus the one who did so would lose points.

Buneary, thinking the same thing, realised she wasn't in a contest battle too late as Infernape shot forward and caught her in the cheek with a Mach Punch, causing the crowd to cringe.

 _Ow!_ Buneary thought to herself, rubbing her cheek, noting Infernape pulling his fist back, she decided to react. "[Ice Beam!]"

She quickly fired the attack into Infernape's fist, causing him to flinch and grab his wrist to quickly warm it up, not noticing Buneary pull her ear back, before she cried out. "[Dizzy Punch!]"

Her ear caught him in the chin, causing him to fall back a little, giving her the opening to launch her other ear into his chest and roll up her previously used one.

Infernape gritted his teeth and clenched his fist to rid it of the remaining ice, throwing another Mach Punch to connect with her Dizzy Punch.

Both fought for dominance for a little while, but Buneary proved weaker and Infernape pushed her back, before pulling his head back..."[Flamethrower!]" and shooting red hot flames out of his mouth, blasting Buneary even further back and slamming her, painfully, into the ground on her back.

The crowd cringed again, but Buneary showed her resolve and bounced back up. _Screw it! I probably can't win this fight, but I'm gonna try my best!_

"[Ice Beam!]" She cried out, firing it towards the ground Infernape was standing on, causing him to start punching at his feet to free himself of the ice now freezing him to the ground.

While he did this, she jumped towards him and extended her ear once she was close enough, announcing. "[Dizzy Punch!]" Hitting him in the stomach, causing the ice to break from the combination of his punches and the momentum of her punch, and sent him back onto his tail.

"[Alright, time to get serious,]" Infernape growled, jumping up and spinning in the air. "[Dig!]"

"[Ice Beam!]" Buneary countered, freezing the ground that Infernape was about to plough into.

It didn't stop him from going through, but it did cost him more energy than he would've liked, thus it did damage him a little.

"[Hey, that was a pretty good move!]" Pikachu mentioned to the penguin, who was shouting his support for his team-mate as loudly as he could.

" _[Way to go Buneary! You show him, what for, girl!]"_ Piplup cried out, pumping his fist into the air and jumping up and down.

Buneary, while appreciating Piplup's support, did her best to ignore him, instead unfolding both of her ears and listened to the ground as much as she could.

She managed to pick up a faint sound of paws chucking earth behind them…and it sounded like it was getting closer.

At the last minute, Buneary jumped into the air. "[Ice Beam!]" She cried out, freezing the ground below her as Infernape crashed through it easily, revealing that he already had a Mach Punch up, managing to predict this manoeuvre, and threw his fist towards her.

She panicked and declared. [Bounce!]" Using the Mach Punch as a spring board to get as far away from Infernape as possible.

 _This is getting me nowhere!_ She thought to herself, allowing herself some breathing room up in the air. _It might be time to use that new move. At the very least, it should give me the element of surprise!_

She nodded to herself, extending her foot as she fell, ready to land on Infernape, who decided to cover himself in flames and jump up to meet her this time.

"[Flare Blitz!]" He cried out, causing Buneary to widen her eyes as the attacks collided.

Through the dust clouds, the crowd made out the pair landing apart from each other. Infernape, suffering the effects of the recoil, was holding onto his right arm that had also caught the super-effective Bounce attack…

…Buneary was faring much worse.

She had scorch marks covering her legs and some of her waist fluff, one of her eyes was clenched shut with the strain and she was panting heavily.

But the weird thing was that she was enjoying herself, immensely. She enjoyed coming up with moves to use on the fly, being able to go all out on her opponent, how every move was just as important as the next, how much adrenaline was pumping through her body and, most of all, how impressed and enraptured Pikachu looked right now.

 _He's watching me! H-he…I think he's impressed!_ Buneary thought to herself and she'd be squealing if she had it in her. She then looked at Infernape, who looked to be getting his second wind. _Well…Got no choice but to win now._

She began charging up her new move, feeling the power behind it begin to flow through her. _Sorry Infernape, but Dawn paid a lot of money for this and I'm gonna use it!_

"[Thunderbolt!]" Buneary cried, clenching her ears and fists, shooting bolts of blue lightining from all over her body towards the monkey, whose eyes had widened, not expecting the attack.

That surprise was shared from the mouse in the crowd, watching as the attack connected, causing an explosion of dust to fly around where the target stood. "[Huwah…]"

"[Buneary saw a TM for Thunderbolt in the mall the other day and Dawn got it for her, after she gave her the puppy-dog eyes for a bit,]" Piplup explained, looking proud for his team-mate after landing such a strong looking attack. "[She's been practicing it ever since, cool huh?]"

 _Yeah, and pretty hot too…_ Pikachu thought to himself, feeling a massive wave of heat spread from his cheeks.

 _Is…is it over?_ Buneary thought to herself, squinting into the dust cloud. _I don't see him so I guess-Wait a minute, the ground!_

Before she could react, Infernape emerged from the ground in front of her, slamming his body into hers, causing the rabbit to be pushed back.

She rolled with the hit, flipping over and getting back to her feet, now noticing that Infernape's eyes were on fire, the heat exploding from his body and her eyes widened in fear. _Uh oh…_

"[Th-that's Blaze!]" Piplup cried out, hiding behind Pikachu, unable to watch might happen to his team-mate.

"[True, but if that ability has activated, then Infernape must be on pretty low health. So Buneary still has a chance!]" Pikachu replied, confidently, however he noticed Buneary looking just as scared as Piplup and cringed, sympathetically for her.

"[Bounce!]" She cried out, jumping out of the way of a highly powered up Flamethrower, the crowd from behind her scrambling out of the way of the blast.

 _Her nerves are fried!_ Pikachu thought to himself, watching the rabbit try to counter each of the Flamethrowers with Thunderbolts, knowing that her Ice Beams will just melt away under the heat. _She needs to calm down and think about things, or she's going to lose. Dawn's not here to help her through it._

He cringed further when Buneary landed and tried her best to dodge all the attacks coming at her. _C'mon, what helps me focus when I'm in trouble…Well, I guess hearing people cheer for me helps…I'm probably going to regret this later…_

" _[C'mon Buneary! You can do this!]"_ He yelled out to her, causing her ear to spring up and her face to heat up.

 _He's cheering for me!_ She thought, smiling and feeling more flattered than ever. After all, she just earned her crush's cheers and support, over his _team-mate_. If that doesn't count for something, nothing will.

So, with new found confidence, she turned to face down her opponent, watching his fist as it shot towards her, and she moved left to dodge the hit.

"[Dizzy Ice Punch!]" She cried out, shooting out an Ice Beam at her fist, that was already charged up with stars surrounding it, and threw it into the monkey's face.

This proved useful as the ice protected her from getting burned by his overheated skin, and the punch itself scored one of the best results it could get.

"[Duh…Whazzat mean…? Potato!]" Infernape mumbled, stars circling his head as he wobbled back and forth, all the anger induced flames dissipating.

" _[Way to go, Buneary!]"_ Pikachu declared, happily as he watched Buneary charge up electricity in her fur.

 _Time for the big finale!_ "[Thunderbolt!]" She declared, jumping up in the air, spreading her arms out, her ears extending as far as they can go, and blue electricity firing in several directions before bending towards their intended target…

…who couldn't do much as he was struck by the attack.

After a few seconds of this, Buneary dropped back to the ground and discontinued the attack. That's when Infernape fell onto his stomach, his eyes showing nothing but swirls, showing that he had been knocked out.

The squirtle nodded and held up his arm on Buneary's side, motioning towards the rabbit. "[Infernape is unable to battle, Buneary is the winner!]"

The crowd cheered and Buneary, bashfully, waved back, smiling…

…before she was tackled into a hug by an overdramatic, crying penguin.

"[Don't scare me like that, Buneary! I thought you were gonna die out there-ere-ere!]" He bawled, causing Buneary to smile in exasperation and hug Piplup back.

"[Don't be silly, Piplup, I wasn't gonna die…I think…I hope…]" She stumbled, remembering the deranged look in the monkey's eyes.

Before Piplup could do anymore babbling, Pachirisu joined the group hug. "[See fluffy, I told ya you could do it!]"

Buneary sighed and extended her right arm to get around the squirrel as well. "[I guess, but please try to pick someone a little more my speed, peppy, I'm still a little sore.]"

"[Wait! You organised this!]" Piplup exclaimed, releasing them from the hug and glaring at Pachirisu, who flinched and rubbed the back of her head, sheepishly.

"[W-well yeah…b-but I had a good- _Eeep!_ ] She cried out as she dodged a Drill Peck, starting to run from the angry penguin.

"[I don't care, you almost put our sister in the morgue you deranged maniac!]" He exclaimed, chasing after the squirrel. "[Get back here so I can teach you a lesson!]"

"[No! I don't wanna go back to school!]" Pachirisu cried out in horror, running away faster than before.

Buneary sweat dropped as the pair of them did this, the crowd dispersing, clearing the way for Bulbasaur and Bayleef to clear the battlefield, ready for the doubles competition. _My team is crazy…_ She thought to herself, before a smile appeared on her face. _But dammit if I don't love 'em._

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Infernape came up to her and offered her his paw. "[Hey, great battle out there. You've gotten a lot better since I last saw you.]"

Buneary blushed, but accepted the paw-shake regardless. "[D'aww, thanks Infernape. You did really great too. If I hadn't have confused you, I doubt I'd have been able to beat you.]"

"[No kidding, being confused sucks,]" He agreed, before waving over to a berry pile. "[Anyway, you can find some healing berries over there, get ya back up to tip-top shape.]"

"[Thanks, Infernape! I hope to get to battle you again, sometime!]" She called after him as he left, him giving her a thumbs-up as he did so.

She started to bounce over to the pile, hoping to find a rawst berry for her foot, before she was stopped by another Pokémon. One yellow mouse she knows very well to be exact.

"[You did great out there, cotton-tail,]" He said, smiling proudly at her. "[You weren't kidding when you said you were practicing your battling! You were hitting Infernape like a pro!]"

Buneary blushed a bright red, not even nearly ready for such praise, and she giggled and clasped her paws together in front of her. "[Aw, thanks Pikachu, that means a lot coming from you,]" Then she blinked and tilted her head at him. "[Wait, did you just call me cotton-tail?]"

Pikachu blushed and scratched his cheek, his own face reddening with embarrassment. "[Um…maybe. I…Uh just thought it suited you. You know, since you've got that fluffy tail and…not that I've been looking there, I've just uh…]"

Buneary blinked at him, not used to seeing him so flustered and lost for words. So, she just giggled and nuzzled his cheek a little. "[D'aw, it's okay, I kind of like it. It's cute.]"

"[Aheh, kinda like you then…]" His eyes widened again when he said that and looked down to see her looking up at him with the same wide eyes, but a much redder face. "[Um…I mean, like your whole species is cute…but you're cuter and uh…]"

"[Are…a-are you trying to flirt with me?]" Buneary asked, tilting her head to the side.

"[…Maybe…]" Pikachu whispered, twiddling his fingers together in his own nerves.

 _Did their plan…actually work?!_ Buneary thought to herself, getting a little giddy and she giggled in happiness, completely forgetting about the pain in her body for the moment. "[Well…Don't be so nervous and try again, yeah?]" She said, noting his surprised look. "[Because you keep trying to explain your compliments and it kinda…takes away from them, you know?]"

"[I…I guess, fluffy,]" Pikachu said, before getting a poke in the ribs.

"[Don't go turning into Pachirisu, mister, one of her is bad enough!]" She grinned, before giggling and hugging the mouse.

"[Well…. You are very fluffy and warm, you know…I really do like how nice you are…]" He said, getting a little nuzzle to his cheek in return.

"[Well, you know, I have a great role-model,]" She replied, pulling back to look him in the eye.

"[Really, who?]"

Buneary sighed and pressed her nose up against his, her recent battle victory giving her the confidence to try something so bold, and lowered her eye-lids at him. "[Take a wild guess.]"

"[Uh…buwah…]" He responded, his face flushing a much darker red at how close she was to him. So much closer than she usually was. He could feel her breath on his lips, which had a slight chill to it after having used so many Ice Beams during the battle, making his own lips tingle slightly and his heart start to race in excitement.

She noticed his widened eyes and backed away a little, thinking that she may have misinterpreted his actions or overstepped some kind of line. "[Um…sorry. Am I making y-]"

She was cut off when Pikachu shot forward and caught her lips with his own, not wanting her to back away, and decided to screw thinking about the long-distance stuff. He liked her, she liked him and that's all that mattered!

Buneary blinked as he did this, her mind not really comprehending the situation at all, but still feeling his warm lips over her slightly chilled ones.

After a while of this, Pikachu pulled away, not liking the way Buneary froze up when he made his bold move, before Buneary's brain caught up and she realised that his lips weren't on hers anymore. So, she threw her arms around him and brought him into another kiss, closing her eyes to commit this feeling she had to memory.

She felt like her brain had exploded into fireworks, her heart was melting and that, if she were to die right now, she'd die a happy Pokémon. His fur sparked and sent tiny little jolts through her fur, but she was now used to that, having the Thunderbolt attack, but liked the way they warmed up her body and, ironically, made her feel safe.

Pikachu, on the other hand, felt his heart warm at the feeling of her arms around him, deciding to snake his around her waist to pull her closer to get as much of that warmth as possible. He felt happiness like he hasn't ever felt before, his heart starting to beat a little faster than before, if possible. And any thoughts about this being a bad idea just vanished from his mind, completely, all his mental power being focused on the girl in his arms.

After a little bit of this, they disconnected the kiss, but didn't remove themselves from each other entirely, content to stay in each other's arms for the moment, Buneary's head falling onto Pikachu's shoulder, not able to stop the huge smile from spreading on her face.

"[I…I like you a lot, Buneary… A whole lot and… I'm sorry I never realized until today… And I'm sorry I never realised that you liked me…]" Pikachu whispered to her, noting that her ears would be sensitive enough to hear it and he didn't trust his voice to remain steady after the kiss.

Buneary could hardly believe how well Glaceon, Pachirisu and Buizel's plan had worked out, or how happy she was in this moment. She thought, for the briefest moment, that she was dreaming but she knew her dreams and they were never this vivid and…well Pikachu was made out of marshmallows in those dreams…

…yeah, her imagination is weird.

"[I really like you too, Pikachu…]" She whispered back before it all got too much for her and she collapsed, causing Pikachu to panic and bring one of his paws up to her shoulders to lift her up, bridal style.

She noticed this and giggled a little, nuzzling into his cheek. "[Either you really know how to sweep me off my feet, or I really should heal up.]"

"[Heal up…? Oh right! The battle,]" Pikachu remembered, berating himself for that, mentally, before carrying her towards the berries, nuzzling her back. "[Well…let's get you healed up and… maybe we can… Watch the doubles competition… Like a date?]" He asked, causing Buneary to roll her eyes.

"[Anything to watch a battle, huh?]" She grinned at him, teasingly, before nuzzling into his chin before he could take it the wrong way. "[I'd love to.]"

Pikachu smiled at the adorable, fluffy rabbit Pokémon in his arms and felt his heart warm at the sight of her happy face, her little pink nose twitching in her cheerfulness. "[Awesome…]"

* * *

"[Hey Glaceon, looks like it worked,]" Buizel said, pointing out the rodent pair on the opposite side of the crowd, watching the current battle, which was Croagunk and Sudowoodo vs Ash's Quilava and Totodile.

Glaceon looked over to where Buizel was pointing, noting Buneary's head resting on Pikachu's shoulder, his arm around her shoulders to keep her close. They seemed to be chatting about something and, considering how often they pointed at the battle, they were probably critiquing the fight.

She smiled at the weasel and nudged him with her tail. "[Yup, your plan certainly worked. Who knew you were such a Mesprit?]"

He frowned, but blushed a little in embarrassment, turning and folding his arms. "[No-one! I've just spent enough time around those two to know exactly how they work! I was team-mates with both of them, after all!]"

"[You sure…]" Glaceon grinned, noting the red staining his cheeks. "[You never had a crush?]"

"[What?! No way, you're cra-]"

"[Tails! Save me!]" Pachirisu cried out, looking panicked, jumping up onto Buizel's head to get away from Piplup, who was jumping up and down besides the weasel, trying to get at the squirrel.

"[You have to come down at some point, you lunatic!]" Piplup cried up to her, causing her to look down and stick her tongue out at him.

"[Nu-uh, Pecky! Tails will save me, right?]" She asked the weasel, who blushed lightly and rubbed the back of his head.

"[Uh…sure, I guess…]" He said, looking down to motion Piplup to leave.

Glaceon noticed his look while Piplup was yelling at him to put Pachirisu down, and grinned, looking over her paw. _Ah, my work isn't done quite yet, it seems._

* * *

Buneary sighed as she saw Piplup yelling up at Pachirisu from Buizel's feet and turned to her new boyfriend. "[You think we should do something about that?]"

Pikachu blinked and looked to where she was motioning to, finding Piplup trying to jump up at the squirrel, only for Buizel to put his paw on the shorter Pokémon's head to keep him down. "[Nah, I'm sure Buizel can handle it, plus Glaceon's there too…]" He added, motioning to the ice-type next to the little group. "[Besides, I'm too comfortable right now,]" He continued, nuzzling her cheek a little.

She blushed, giggled and nuzzled back. "[Oh, you!]"

He smiled, wondering why it took him so long to do something like this. After all, Buneary was nice, fluffy, fun, really strong and warm to the touch…

…plus, she knew a surprising amount about battling, too!

"[So…When do you think Totodile's going to figure out that Croagunk has the Dry Skin ability?]" She mentioned, noting that said crocodile shot out a Hydro Pump, effectively healing the toad.

"[Totodile's always been a…bit impulsive,]" Pikachu mentioned, noting Totodile's contemplative look. "[He's probably figured it out by now though.]"

"[Hopefully, or it might be game over for him and Quilava,]" She said, pointing out that the fire-type was looking a little worse for wear.

"[Yeah…This is fun,]" Pikachu said, scratching his cheek. "[So maybe if they…uh…]"

"[I'd love to do doubles with you!]" Buneary agreed, already knowing what he was about to ask. He smiled and nuzzled her cheek, causing her to giggle.

"[Awesome!]" He said, already looking forward to it. "[Though tomorrow, we can do what you want to do, promise.]"

"[I just want to spend time with you,]" She answered, noting that Sudowoodo and Quilava had knocked each-other out, leaving just Totodile and Croagunk. "[Though I do want to see what else is around here, if you don't mind giving me a tour?]"

Pikachu smiled and rested his head on her fluffy, rolled up ear, a bit like how he had on the train, only now by choice, rather than by force. "[You got it, cotton-tail,]" He said, causing her to giggle and smile, happily.

…and the image of the elderly Buneary in her mind now looked a lot happier and her fluff a lot more lively, with a slightly greying Pikachu by her side…

* * *

 **ML54: Yup, as you can see this is longer than Nerves by about 2,000-3,000 words...**

 **Buizel: Are all these, in-universe fics, going to get incrementally longer!**

 **ML54: Dear Arceus, I hope not! It's just because...well this is Pikachu's romance. You know, the mascot, so it only feels natural that his and Buneary's story would be the longest.**

 **Pachirisu: So...Me and Buizel next?**

 **ML54: Probably. It's either you guys, or Quilava and Bayleef. I guess we'll see next time in...I need a name for this universe...Just something to put in the summary of the stories, so you readers can tell what stories are linked...For now, I'll just call it Universe One!**

 **Snivy: *Rolls eyes* Sounds exciting...**

 **ML54: Please R &R guys! Later! :D**


End file.
